The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts the Census of Agriculture just once every five years, and it's that time again. Currently, the census
is the only complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It includes even the smallest plots of land -- rural or urban -- growing fruits, vegetables, or raising food animals, if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or
normally would have been sold, during the census year.

This December, the 2017 Census of Agriculture will be mailed to more than three million U.S. farmers. Your support in promoting the census is critical to its success, said King Whetstone, NASS regional director. Over the next few months, please help us
remind producers of the importance of their responses. It is through the census that they can show the nation the value and importance of agriculture.

Thank you for helping to spread the word that the 2017 Census of Agriculture is Your Voice, Your Future, Your Opportunity. For more information and regular updates about the census, visit the Census website above, follow us on Twitter @usda_nass, or call
us at 717-787-3904, Whetstone said.